Renewable Communities: mixed results in Italy
Renewable communities are urban centres based on environmental sustainability, where energy is produced from renewable sources and shared among all the inhabitants. This serves to reduce atmospheric emissions of harmful pollutants and protect citizens’ wellbeing.
This idea originated in Northern Europe, where entire nations have been working for years to create more ecofriendly cities. Considering the excellent results achieved in those countries, Italy has decided to embrace this initiative, but there are currently several problems that need to be resolved.
How many renewable energy communities exist in Italy?
At present, there are 100 renewable communities within Italy’s borders in total and this figure includes both active projects and others which are still in the pipeline. To be precise, there are:
- 35 operational projects;
- 41 projects under development;
- 24 projects currently undergoing bureaucratic procedures.
Between June 2021 and May 2022, the newly registered projects totalled 59, comprising of 39 renewable energy communities and 20 collective self-consumption projects.
The available data indicates that the Italian regions are keen to encourage the development of these projects, but uncertainty regarding renewable energy sources and Italy’s complex bureaucratic mechanisms are leading to delays in their implementation.
Renewable sources are not becoming available fast enough
According to recent figures, there are approximately 1.35 million power stations using renewable energy sources (hydro-electric, wind and solar) in Italy, supplying a total of 60.8 Gigawatts of power. In 2021, this sector contributed around 115.7 TWh (Terawatts) of electrical power to Italy’s national grid.
That figure increased by just 1.58% compared to 2020, so considerably below the annual growth targets. The chance of reaching the target of 70 GW of power generated by renewable energy plants alone by the year 2030 seems remote and at the current rate experts predict it will take 124 years to reach.
In the absence of energy sources that can be efficiently used, the construction of renewable energy communities becomes more difficult and investors demotivated. One of the main causes of this type of vicious circle is the complex bureaucratic process required to obtain the necessary authorisations for the work.
Considering that bureaucracy is Italy’s Achilles heel, more and more citizens are asking the government to follow Europe’s example. The EU Repower programme in fact, imposes the simplification of procedures required to obtain a construction licence and offers more significant incentives to firms operating in that sector (around 80 million euros).
Revision of the National Energy and Climate Plan
Among the many proposals as to how to un-block the current situation regarding renewable energy sources involves the revision of the National Energy and Climate Plan. The proposals focus on providing useful tips on how to improve and facilitate the route to sustainability. They include:
- the establishment of new decarbonisation objectives;
- the unblocking (by 2023) of authorisations for renewable energy plants capable of generating 90 GW of power;
- the simplification of procedures required to obtain permissions;
- better information available to citizens about matters related to the projects;
- the provision of rules governing the development of agri-voltaic plants and off-shore windfarms;
- an efficient use of existing facilities.
The letter containing these proposals also lists other useful points to facilitate the creation of renewable communities, reflecting a widespread desire to embrace environmental sustainability. What is lacking at present seems to be solid intervention by the government.
